Roof construction and roofing element therefor



March J. a PEEBLES .ROOF CONSTRUCTION AND ROOFING ELEMENT THEREFOR Filed April 4, 1938 Patented Mar. 28, 1939 PATENT OFFEQE ROOF CONSTRUCTION AND' ROOFING ELEMENT THEREFOR Joseph B. Peebles, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application April 4, 1938, Serial No. 199,741

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved roof construction and is also directed to a novel roofing element particularly adapted for use in the construction of roofs in accordance with this invention.

Roofs covered with slate or ceramic tile have heretofore necessitated the application of a substantially continuous sheathing, this use of sheathing distinguishing .from the use of longi- 10 tudinally extending spaced sheathing when wooden shingles or shakes are employed.

Tile and slate elements provide the most durable roofs but one of the greatest objections to such roofs has been the high cost thereof 15 and the enormous weight which has to be carried. The present invention permits the use of ceramic materials or slate and obviates the necessity of having continuous sheathing. Furthermore the construction described hereinafter 20 gives rise to a construction which may weigh only one-third or one-half of normal tile construction per unit of roof surface. In addition, the construction of this invention results in a roof which is appreciably more water-tight and 25 weather-resistant and which will not leak even under the influence of driving rain.

Generally stated, the invention contemplates the use of roofing elements comprising an elongated body portion in combination with a strip of flexible water-resistant material which may be attached to the upper section of the back of the body portion and extend beyond the upper edge so as to permit said strip to be turned over the upper edge of the body portion. and overlie the upper section of the front of the tile. These strips may be substantially as wide as each body 1 element but extend to beyond one side edge thereof so that the adjacent roofing element rests in part upon the fibrous strip of the preceding roof- 40 ing element.

These roofing elements are attached to the sheathing in partially overlapping relation, preferably each roofing element partially overlapping portions of two adjacent underlying elements.

45 In this manner the upper edges of each roofing element are completely enclosed by means of the flexible water-resistant strip material and overlapping elements are separated by a cushion formed from the strip material.

50 An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a roof construction which is of relatively light Weight and which permits the use of ceramic or mineral roofing elements.

A further object is to provide a roof construc- 55 tion whereby roofing elements of a character previously necessitating the use of continuous underlying sheathing may be used in combination with open sheathing.

A further object is to provide a roof construction which is characterized by great weather resistance.

An object of the invention is to provide a roofing element of novel form.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. For purposes of illustration, reference will be had to the appended drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View of a portion of a roof constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged perspective views of one form of roofing element.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective View of the upper rear corner section of a tile embodying this invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken through the upper portion of the tile shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 diagrammatically illustrates in side elevation a modified roofing element construction.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of roofing element construction.

Fig. 8 is a perspective showing a method of arranging the tile for bundling purposes.

It is to be understood that the roofing construction and roofing elements of this invention may be made from clay or other ceramic composition, slate, wood, or various other compositions such as cement, asphalt, asbestos or other fibre, etc., and that such roofing elements may be surfaced or coated in any desired manner. In order to simplify description, the detailed discussion of this invention will be directed to ce- 0 ramic tile but it is to be understood that such specific reference is only for purposes of sim-, plification and illustration.

As shown in Fig. 1, the roof may comprise the usual joists l0, H, I2, etc., suitably spaced from each other. Attached to the joists are sheathing members l3, l4, [5, etc., spaced from each other and extending in a substantially horizontal direction. To these sheathing members are attached roofing elements, such as the elements I7,

An individual roofing element is shown in greater detail in Figs. 2 and 3. This roofing element I6 comprises a body portion 22 provided with a substantially smooth upper face. This element is provided with a strip of flexible waterproof, water-resistant material, generally indicated at 23, said strip being commonly made of a fibrous material saturated with asphalt or other bituminous material or composition. Nail holes 24 and are preferably provided in the upper section of the body portion 22. The fibrous strip 23 may be substantially as wide as the body portion 22 but extends beyond the upper edge 26 of such body portion so that the upper end of the strip 23 may be folded over the upper edge and into contact with the front surface of the body portion as indicated in Fig. 3. Preferably, the nail holes 24 and 25 are covered by the turnedover portion of the flexible strip 23. Figs. 2 and 3 also show that the fibrous strip 23 extends beyond the side edge 21 of the body portion 22.

As more specifically shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the upper edge 26 of the tile element may be rounded so as to prevent sharp edges from cutting or impairing the water-resisting characteristics of the strip 23. In order to reduce the weight of the roofing element (particularly in the event the element is made from a ceramic composition such as clay, etc.), the rear surface of the tile may be indented or recessed in any desired manner. In Fig. 4 a series of hexagonal depressions is shown, these depressions being separated by means of ridges 30, 3|, and the like. The hexagonal form of depression is of particular utility since no continuous ribs extend from edge to edge of the tile and therefore there are no specific planes or lines of weakness. When lightweight compositions are employed in making the body portion of the roofing element, it may not be necessary to indent the rear face of the element.

The depressions existing between the ridges 30 may be of any desired depth, Figs. 4 and 5 showing these depressions to extend about half way through the tile. The body of the tile immediately surrounding a nail hole, such as the nail hole 25, is preferably of the over-all thickness of the tile. Furthermore, such nail holes are preferably countersunk on each side, as shown in Fig. 5, and may be filled, in part at least, with a plastic, viscous material having water-resisting properties, so that when a nail is driven through the nail hole the head of the nail is received by the countersink and the plastic waterproofing material indicated at 32 fills the space around the shank of the nail and produces a water-tight seal.

The strips of flexible material 23 may be either loosely applied to the back of the tile or they may be attached to the back of the tile. The edges and ribs in the upper section of the back of the tile may be coated with asphalt or other waterresisting eementitous material as indicated at 33, and the fibrous strip 23 then applied, the cementitious material 33 thereby holding the fibrous strip in desired position on the back of the tile. The complete roofing element, therefore, may comprise a body portion 22 provided with a substantially smooth front face and a pimpled or recessed back and a fibrous strip 23 attached to a portion of the rear surface by means of a suitable cementitious or adhesive material. It is to be understood that the cementitious or adhesive material may be applied either to a portion of the back of the tile or it may be applied to the strip 23. When it is desired to apply a material such as asphalt to a portion of the back of the tile, such application may be by means of a brush, roller, or in any other suitable manner.

The roofing elements described are attached to the spaced sheathing by means of nails and after they are attached in this manner the upper free edges of the strips 23 are bent over the upper edge into the position shown in Fig. 3. Superimposed layers of roofing elements are then applied, preferably in such manner that each roofing element, such as the element I! (Fig. 1) overlaps two underlying tile, such as the tile l8 and IS. The flexible strip 23 is preferably of sufficient length so that when the roofing elements are used in constructing a roof, the fibrous strip 23 of an overlying tile, such as the tile II, will rest against and overlie the turned-over portion of the fibrous strip of a lower tile, such as the tile l9. In effect, therefore, the tile 11 is separated from the underlying tile [9 by means of two layers of fibrous material and the upper edges of all tile are protected and covered by the fibrous waterresisting strips 23. In the completed roof, therefore, driving rain which may be driven upwardly between overlying tile will meet the turned-over portions of the fibrous strips 23 and be thus prevented from entering the structure bearing such roof.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6, the flexible strip 23 extends about half way down the back of the tile. Since, as stated hereinabove, two thicknesses of the waterproof material separate tiles when they are arranged as shown in Fig. 1, it, is sometimes desirable to make the lower section of each tile slightly thicker than the upper section of the tile so as to compensate for the spacing material. Fig. 6 diagrammatically illustrates the relationship between tiles in a roof and also shows the increased thickness in the lower section of a tile body, this increased thickness permitting substantial contact between the rear of a superimposed tile with the front surface of an underlying tile.

In the modified form of roofing element shown in Fig. 7, the flexible strip 23 is wider than the body portion 22 and extends above the upper edge and also beyond a side edge of such body portion. The strip 23 may be attached to the back of the body portion 22 over the entire area of such back covered by the strip 23. In the illustrated form, however, the strip 23 is only attached or preattached to the body portion 22 along a portion of the back adjacent that edge beyond which the strip 23 extends. This permits the roofing elements to be laid as shown in Fig. '7, namely, it permits the insertion of the longitudinally extending edge of the strip 23 between the body portion 22' and its attached backing strip 23", thereby forming a lapped and interlocked joint between the various flexible strips 23. During the placement of these roofing elements, the longitudinally extending portions of the strips 23, 23", etc., may be brushed with a liquid cementing material such as, for example, roofing pitch or asphalt, thus giving rise to a thoroughly impervious, highly water-resistant construction which will withstand even the direct application of a stream of water applied at considerable pressure. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the strips 23' and 23 extend downwardly over substantially the entire back of each body portion of the roofing element. It is to be understood that the size of each flexible strip in relation to the body portion with which it is employed may be appreciably varied without departing from the inventive combination disclosed herein.

When the flexible strips 23 are more or less permanently attached to the rear of the body portions of each roofing element at their place of manufacture, it is desirable to ship such complete roofing elements in bundle form. These bundles are most suitably formed by stacking a specified number of the tile elements in superimposed relation, as shown in Fig. 8, alternate tile being reversed end for end, alternate tile being laterally shifted so as to form a substantially rectangular bundle with the edges of the tile protecting the extending edges of the fibrous strips. These bundles are then tied together by means of a rope, Wire, strip or the like, suitable buffers being used at the corners to prevent such tie means from cutting into the flexible strips 23.

A complete roof constructed in accordance with Fig. 1 and made from ceramic tile will weigh only one-third to one-half as much per unit roof area as a roof constructed from ordinary tile in the usual manner. Furthermore, a roof constructed in accordance with this invention will be much more water-tight. 'and weather-resistant than a roof constructed in the customary manner.

I claim:

1. A lightweight roofing element comprising an elongated tile and a strip of flexiblel waterresistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said tile and extending beyond the upper edge thereof and turned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the tile, said tile being provided with a substantially smooth front face and an indented rear face.

2. A lightweight roofing element comprising an elongated tile and a strip of flexible waterresistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said tile and extending beyond the upper edge thereof and turned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the tile, said strip extending to beyond one side edge thereof but terminating short of the lower edge of the tile, said tile being provided with a substantially smooth front face and an indented rear face.

3. A lightweight roofing element comprising an elongated tile and a strip of flexible waterresistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said tile and extending beyond the upper edge thereof andturned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the tile, said strip being substantially as wide as the tile but extending to beyond one side edge thereof, said tile being provided with a susbtantially smooth front face and an indented rear face, said tile being of greater over-all thickness in the lower section below said strip than in the upper section.

4. A roofing element comprising an elongated body portion and a strip of flexible, waterresistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said body portion by means of an asphaltic material, said strip extending beyond the upper edge of said body portion and turned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the body portion, said strip terminating short of the lower edge of the body portion.

5. A roofing element comprising in combination an elongated body portion and a strip of flexible water-resistant material in contact with a part of the back of the body portion, said strip extending beyond the upper edge and a longitudinal edge of said body portion and turned over the upper edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the body portion to contact with portions of an adjoining roofing element.

6. As an article of manufacture, a roofing element comprising an elongated body portion and a strip of flexible water-resistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said body portion by means of an asphaltic material, said strip extending beyond the upper edge of said body portion and turned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the body portion, said strip terminating short of the lower edge of the body portion, the lower section of said body portion, below said strip, being of greater over-all thickness than the upper section.

'7. A roof construction including sheathing, roofing elements attached to said sheathing in partially overlapping relation, each roofing element comprising an elongated body portion and a strip of flexible water-resistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said body portion, said strip extending beyond the upper edge thereof and turned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the body portion, the lower section of each roofing element overlying the upper section of a lower element, a portion at least of each element being spaced from the underlying element by said strip material.

8. A roof construction including sheathing, roofing elements attached to said sheathing in partially overlapping relation, each roofing element comprising an elongated body portion and a strip of flexible water-resistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said body portion, said strip extending beyond the upper edge thereof and turned over said edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the body portion, said strip extending to beyond one side edge of each body portion, said body portion being provided with a substantially smooth front face and an indented rear face, the lower section of each roofing element overlying the upper section of a lower element, a portion at least of each element being spaced from the underlying element by said strip material.

9. A roof construction including spaced sheathing members, roofing elements attached to said sheathing members, each roofing element comprising a tile and a strip of flexible waterresistant material attached to the upper section of the back of said tile by means of a waterproof adhesive, said strip extending to beyond one side edge thereof and beyond the upper edge thereof and turned over said upper edge to overlie the upper section of the front of the tile, said tile being provided with a substantially smooth front face and an indented rear face, nail holes in the upper section of each tile, nails extending through said holes and attaching said tile to said sheath- 

